The Tiger and the Fox
by Mr. Butler
Summary: AU: Year 1940 and Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel has been given Command of the Germany Army Group Africa, AfrikaKorps, he has included the Brilliant Miho Nishizumi as part of his personal Panzer Division. War creates conflict and serving the directly under the Desert Fox could Miho help Rommel realize the true evil he must fight?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** A bit of some background information: I do not own Girls Und Panzer. This is an AU 1940, Miho and the rest of the girls from GuP are Tank Crewmembers in their respective nation of course, much older and a bit more mature. Miho and her Tank Team are apart of Rommel's AfrikaKorps, Rommel being a Tank Commander himself and very daring during the France Campaign I thought it would be fitting. The story will be a bit more than just childish, it will lean to darker tones but hopefully I'll be able to maintain the whimsical nature of the show.

Feel free to Rate, Review and or Follow/Favorite! Please Enjoy! And more to come as well!

 **Chapter 1**

The desert was no one's friend, it was hot and extremely desolate of any natural water and the sand storms constantly clogged up the air filters thus the tanks demanded constant maintenance. As such several tank crews were doing so currently, the army was currently stopped for refueling and rearming, several trucks moved between several Tanks for such tasks. The German Infantry were stationed nearby, some even offered their assistance to some Tankers as to relieve themselves from boredom of the shifting ssand dunes.

One crew in particular enjoyed their moment of calm and peace, finally allowed to properly take care of their precious tank, the _Panzerkampfwagen IV H_. It was painted carefully to match the distinctive sand color, blending it well with the sands around them and hiding them from any possible aerial reconnaissance, but most important was the crew's Tank symbol. A small pink Anglerfish, drawn in a childish manner but hidden beneath its exterior additional armor acting as a Turret Skirt.

"Oye Miho!" Yukari cried out, cleaning out some of the last clumps of sand hidden in part of the engine compartment, "You think the General will get us new parts soon?" She asked.

"Doubt it, we barely have enough replacement parts for about half of our trucks, Tank Parts are a diamonds in the sand dunes," Mako gloomily replied, their said driver laying down on the provided shade that the tank produced. A pillow placed beneath her head.

 _How did she manage to bring that pillow with her everywhere she goes?_ Yukari asked mentally before looking up towards their Tank Commander Miho, "Eh? You really think we won't get new Tank Parts too Miho?" She asked again.

Miho stood on top of her Tank, her hands holding her binoculars to her face as she scanned the outstretched sea of sand in front of her. She turned to face her Tank crew with a soft smile, "Once we reach Tobruk we should have access to the Ports there and shipments of new parts will come in from Mainland Germany," Miho responded, her words spoken softly but always held an air of confidence around them.

Perhaps not the answer Yukari wanted, but as it seems it would be the answer she would only get at the moment. Truthfully she herself had expected the response, she too read the reports and new of the battle plan given to them by their Lieutenant General. She felt a tad uneasy at the prospect fighting with their backs against the wall but she knew, along with the rest of her crew, than to speak her true feelings on the matter.

"Well I can't wait to finally get back to the ocean, and back to the beach!" Saori declared, digging herself out from underneath the tank. Her uniform was stained with oil and grease as she handed Yukari a thumbs up for the small repairs on the transmission. "Am I right Hana?" Saori asked their gunner.

Hana herself was inside the tank, the hatches open as to allow her to hear the conversations behad outside, her fingers delicately correcting the ranges on her aim sights. She looked confused as she peered outside to address Saori, "Huh? I thought you wanted to go back to Italy and visit more of their Sweet shops?" Hana responded to Saori. Who in turn looked embarrassed as she waved her hands in front of her.

"Of course not Hana! What would ever make you think that?" She asked nervously, it was bad enough she was known to oogle at young men from time to time, but being known as a Sweet Tooth would ruin her persona.

Yukari only laughed as did Hana, and some gurgled sounds came from Mako of that Saori wasn't exactly sure if it was laughing or choking. Miho also giggled quickly at the antics of her tank crew before returning to gazing the sands ahead of her.

Miho knew of the dangers that laid ahead of them, certainly as the acting Commander for the first All Female Armored Tank Division, she had a lot to live up to and even more so to exceed her own expectations. Miho looked behind her and saw the other group of Panzer IV tanks lined up perfectly, each with their own colourful symbol from their crew and each had unwavering loyalty and trust in her ability to lead.

The wind began to pick up, sand rustled and shifted around them, small swirls rose up and died down as moans from her crew grew at the idea of sand coming back into their tank. Thankfully they weren't moving so they could tightly seal all the hatches and keep the engine and radiator seal tight. No point of keeping the exhaust ports open when the engine weren't on.

Sand around grew more restless and soon a storm creeped closer to them, the crew followed Miho back into the Tank once they had properly assured sand wouldn't enter the engine compartments. They all sat in their seats within the tank, the crashing of sand all around them, bouncing off the armor and skirt plates as they all waited for the storm to pass.

The radio suddenly bursted into life, the crew jumped as the crackle of a voice broke through their silence. " _PanzerKommandant_ Miho, _Herr_ General Rommel has ordered the march to Tobruk once the storm has subsided," And the voice disappeared.

"That was the short comm radio, they must be chaining the information slowly," Yukari commentated as she gave a sheepish smile towards Miho.

The whole crew looked a bit more lively, except for Mako who still laid sprawled on her driver seat, haphazardly sleeping in an awkward position. Miho nodded, "We'll follow the battle plan, and we'll seize Tobruk with everyone's help," She added, her mind going back to the Map and the Battle Plan that was laid out to all the _PanzerKommandants_ to follow. "Relay the message to the others in our squad and make sure they have the right frequencies once enter battle zone 1 and battle zone 2," Miho ordered as she pulled out her notebook, a small map folded open as she grabbed her pencil and compass. The sand storm would continue for a bit of more time and Miho knew she needed all the time to keep her notes clear.

From the distant explosions could be heard, much of it from Airstrikes and their own artillery adding to the bombardment of the Fortress City of Tobruk. Miho stood patiently among the rest of the Panzer Commanders, their uniforms crisp and caps matched perfectly among all of them. Miho realized she wasn't the shortest of the bunch, but was one of the only one with longer hair than the rest of them. Rest of them being of course males and Miho herself being the only female.

They all stood perfectly straight, eyes forward and arms straight down, waiting for their General. The man himself stepped inside the tent, his iconic cap and and desert coat strode inside, his face stoic as he saluted his Commanders returned to a rested military stance.

"At ease _Kommandants_ ," General Rommel spoke first as he placed himself in the center of the room, "Today we take Tobruk, the Allies have overstayed their welcome and _Herr Führer_ Hitler commands us to be victorious," General Rommel continued, "You all know your roles and you all know the battle plan, and today you all are our Steel Warriors, our victory has been entrusted in your hands," The General finished, "Dismissed!"

Everyone began to file out of the General's tent and as Miho followed suite a gentle hand rested on her shoulder and she froze solid as she turned to find the General himself holding her shoulder before releasing her, "A moment" He ordered as the rest of the Commanders marched back to their Tanks and crew.

Once it was on them two Miho offered a salute, "Sir!", her salute stiff and her eyes pointed straight ahead.

"At ease Commander Miho," General Rommel waved, sighing deeply, "How are you holding up? And how are the others as well?" He asked her, his eyes softened a tad as he looked at her.

Miho relaxed and nodded thoughtfully, "We are all doing fine _Herr_ Rommel, just anxious to see Tobruk and hopefully to get new parts," Miho explained.

Rommel chuckled, "New parts _ja_? Well this probably won't satisfy but I'm under strict orders to give it to you as soon as I had received this packaged," Rommel responded, Miho looking a bit confused, as the Lieutenant General Rommel turned to grab a small package from his papers.

He walked over and opened the box revealing an Acorn, it shone brightly and carved into the Acorn was the Cartoonish Anglerfish. Miho remained wide eyed and mouth gaped open as she held the Acorn pin on her palms.

"Gertrude, my little mouse, along with my son Manfred helped carve out some Acorns for you and your crew," Rommel explained, he held her a bigger box containing the rest of the Acorn pins.

Miho only smiled brightly at the gift, "Oh Uncle Rommel, tell little Gertrude and Manny I love it! My crew will enjoy them I'm just sure of it," Miho explained, embracing the General right there, whom returned the hug as his cheeks hinted of a shade of red for a moment.

"I will Miho, my Panzer Princesses," Rommel chuckled, Miho released her General and her own cheeks only redden at her old childhood nickname. "You're dismissed and allowed to return back to you crew Commander Miho, _Panzer Vor_!"

" _Panzer Vo_ r!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** This an earlier update than I had originally had planned (Weekly Updates are my plan), but since Christmas is right around the corner I thought why not give an early update? I have noticed my initial misspelling of Tobruk, I was surprised my SpellCheck didn't go off! ._.

For the Question (From RedSS) of Women in the German Infantry, as of what I've known there were possible Female soldiers near the tail end of the War (Russia was literally kicking the front door) but currently I've not have plans to include OC Female German Soldiers. OC being the key word!

I do hope to flesh out this new World I've created for our GuP Ladies SeekerMeeker, as always I will try constantly to improve my writing with each chapter. Environments and Scenery writing will improve, as I try to balance my focus between Character Interactions and World Building. Thank you for your comments and feedback!

Please enjoy this Second Chapter! As always feel free to rate, review, follow or favorite!

Merry Christmas!

 **Chapter 2**

The desert often felt never ending, dunes of sand one right after the other, for the Panzer Divisions it did provide for some challenges. Some tanks took a while to climb certain steep dunes and while others enjoyed the benefit of generally flat terrain. Miho and her company of seven other Panzer IV's driving beside her own tank. Sand and dirt plumed up behind them, creating small clouds of sand as they continued their drive. With the sky above them having healthy amount of clouds, it covered their advance from any pesky aerospy craft from the Royal Air Force.

Miho opened the hatch to allow herself to stand up straight and have the ability to look around the entire desert. She brought her binoculars up to her eyes, the other Panzer Divisions were keeping the battle formation, she could easily see the other groups of tanks around her with her binoculars. Their own Tank Commander leading them into the first Battle Zone as directed with the battle plan given to them from their General. They were to be the great and mighty steel sword of Rommel.

Patches of scorched sand and dirt were scattered ahead of Miho's tank group, they had sent out Mine Sweeper Tanks earlier to detonate and remove most of the mines. Miho knew her own tank was coated with anti-magnetic mine coating but pressure mines were also a threat. "Saori, tell Turtle, Duck, Hippo, Rabbit, Mallard, Anteater and Leopon to keep ten meter distances from one another and keep the distance until we reach Battle Zone Two," Miho ordered, her eyes narrowed carefully ahead of her. Saori's voice already relaying Miho's order through the short distance radio.

Miho was a tad uneasy at the silent battlefield, aside from the rumble of the engine and the sound of treads rumbling forward, there were no arterially strikes, nor sounds of any combat for that matter. Miho knew that the General will order Airstrikes when combat begins, they had Stuka Dive Bombers and _Messerschmitts_ fighter escorts at the ready in the air. Even the skies were calm, with no signs that their own Luftwaffe were engaging the enemy RAF.

" _Nishizumi-dono_?" Yukari called out to Miho, the loader looked a bit concerned, not fear, but more so curious of her Commander. "Something wrong out there?" She asked.

Miho lowered herself back down, but kept the roof hatch open. She shook her head, "Hm, no not really, just that we have reached well into their artillery zone, and even so they would had put some small tank hunter groups to act as guerrilla forces," Miho explained, "Even the skies are peaceful for the moment," She added, her eyes narrowed as she checked her map once again.

Miho moved back up outside, her hands holding her up right on the hatch, the second Battle Zone was fast approaching and the next phase of the attack plan would commence. The desert began to lose its dunes and the majority of the ground was flat, Miho could see the lines of tank columns next to her. A whine slowly grew louder as Miho looked up, the Ju87's (Stukas as they were called) began their dive towards the grounds that laid ahead of them.

"Miho! Pilots just sent in a radio message, they just discovered several tanks behind the dunes!" Yukari called out. Miho dropped back inside her tank and looked around her crew, aside from Mako who kept her eyes ahead of her as she drove the tank.

"The Stukas will force them out from their hiding spot, move full ahead and make sure not to let any them regroup," Miho ordered, "Relay the message to the rest, and have the other Divisions know of our assault plan," She added, Yukari quickly began to talk into the Radio, Mako pushed the accelerator a tad more and the Panzer roared for a chance to attack.

The Stuka's continued their dive attack, bombs and cannon fire shot up sand and debri into the air as smoke grew. The smell of burnt metal and oil filled the air as Miho's Panzer division rolled through and past the dunes of the failed ambush. Hana pursed her lips as she spotted several M4 Shermans retreating and as well a few Churchill's providing cover for the rear.

"Four visible Churchill class Tanks, they are providing rear protection for the retreating eight visible M4 Shermans," Hana called out to her commander, "Am I free to engage?" she asked.

"You free to open fire and engage at your discretion," Miho responded as she cataloged the report unto her notebook. As doing so the Cannon fired, sending its first shot of the battle straight into the rear section of the retreating Churchill, the tank lurched to a halt as smoke and flames began to emit from its engine compartment.

Miho barely finished writing in the last of her notes before a second shot was fired from her own Panzer and it finished off the Churchill and the fire continued to grow with no one inside the crew left alive to extinguish the flames. Miho ventured back out to look outside, her back leaned against the opened hatch as she turned to see her own Panzer division beginning to fire at the retreating Tanks.

Her eyes looked up towards the skies, the Stukas began their second ground attack strafe, she followed the attack and it once again shot more dirt and debri into the air. What was left were several smoldering M4 Shermans, and a few remaining damaged ones began to turn to face the ground units.

"Target those Sherman's before they could fire," Miho ordered, as she slowly brought her binoculars down. Hana heard and once again the cannon muzzle flared and another shell penetrated the weak armor of the M4 and ignited the ammo rack inside. The entire top of the Sherman blew straight off and the Turret landed several meters away from its original body.

"Target destroyed," Miho muttered softly, cataloging another Tank Kill unto her notebook. Hana targeted for the next wounded Sherman, once again her next shot stayed true and finished off the M4.

"Panzer Halt!" Miho ordered, Mako pressed on the brakes quickly and the entire Tank lurched forward. Yukari relayed the message to the rest of their Panzer Division, "Let the Stuka's finish off the remaining Shermans and Churchills," Miho ordered, her eyes narrowed as she stood up once more outside of the hatch.

She brought up her binoculars and looked at the area in front of her, several dead tanks laid across from her, some nothing more than burning hulks of metal. Miho though concentrated at the highly irregular pattern all these enemy Tanks were moving. Evading shots from the enemy is wise, but with aerial attacks as well, speed would be paramount to get close enough to one's own friendly Anti-Air Guns.

"Mako, follow the trail left behind the enemy tanks, I believe they meant to lead us into another Minefield," Miho explained, Mako in turn nodded as she slowly pressed the accelerator and the Panzer began to follow the trail left behind by the enemy. Miho kept her eyes tracking all across and around her tank, narrowing at the slightest shift of sand or even movement.

The lone fact that the enemy Tanks were maneuvering in such fashion indicated that the mines were pressured and not magnetic anti-tank mines. Miho knew what would happen to them if they ran one over, tracks blown clean off and possibly remain immobile if the damage was greater than replacing a few track treads. Her eyes looked at the area where the fuel tanks were being held, if the explosion was too close the fuel tanks would combust and the possibility of the ammo racks getting ignited.

Miho and her crew knew the strengths of their Panzer very well, from its powerful 75mm Cannon to the mobility and turret rotation of the Panzer. Unfortunately they all knew the deadly flaws their Panzer possessed as well, none were under the impression that their tank were indestructible. Ruined hulks of Panzers and blackened bodies of tank crews would haunt their nightmares for the rest of the lives, they would never believe in the concept of being "untouchable". They were human as much as the enemies they were ordered to dispatch were, Miho silently closed her eyes for a brief moment before returning back inside her Panzer.

Smoke began to fill the air around them a bit more, as they moved past more of the burning wreckages of Sherman tanks. They continued to move until their tank lurched to a stop, Miho popped up from her hatch once more as she shouted, "Enemy Tank crewman!", the turret rotated and the Machine Gun pointed at the ragged body of one of the enemy's Sherman tank crewman. He appeared rather slim, leaning against the destroyed hulk of metal as he turned his head to stare directly into Miho's eyes.

Hana moved over to the Machine gun position and held ready to fire, waiting for Miho's orders. "Yukari with me," Miho ordered as she climbed out through the hatch, her right hand tightly clutching her pistol as she jumped off and headed over to the clearly injured soldier. Yukari quickly jumped next to her Commander's side, her own rifle held at the ready pointed at the soldier leaning against the tank for support.

Miho stepped closer, " _Bist du verletzt? Fallen Sie gewehr!_ " Miho ordered the soldier, whose response was to fall down on his butt and lean the back of his head against the tank's hull.

Miho got a better look and noticed his brown eyes and short grey-brown hair, while most of his face was covered in oil and grease. He looked small in stature, in fact Miho was under the impression he was just a boy barely reaching adulthood, small shoulders, slim hips and waist along with no gaunted chin or chiseled face to represent he went through much training.

Miho knelt near the man, obviously her words were falling to deaf ears, the Allied Soldier probably didn't understand German. Miho moved the man's arm to see what he was clutching, his shirt was soiled with his blood and she saw the gash on his side. Her hands reached into her pocket to pull out several bandages and her water canteen so she could begin to clean the wound. Miho reached to lift the man's shirt but the man's hand wrapped tightly around hers and Miho looked up to see his pleading eyes _"Don't_ " but Miho pushed forward as the man was obviously not thinking straight.

Perhaps he was shy or rather afraid, Miho hesitated her facial features soften but hardened once more as she forced her way to clean and dress his wounds. Miho didn't remove the man's shirt but instead only lifted what was needed for her properly dress the injury. The man winced as Miho quickly made sure the dressings for the wound were near perfect as she could get them. Yukari stood guard, her eyes scanning around them with her rifle raised and poised ready to defend her Commander and if need be, make sure that neither of their lives would be wasted for an enemy soldier.

"Yukari, _hilf mir, ihn zu heben,_ " Miho ordered as she and Yukari both lifted up the wounded man. The trio made as quick as they could back to the Panzer, where the rest of the crew had opened their respective hatch with rifles and pistols at the ready to watch over their comrades.

" _Einfach dort, wir werden ein Medical Car bekommen,"_ Miho called out them, as they all lowered their weapons and placed the injured the man on top of the Panzer while Miho and Yukari sat next to the man and held him as Maho maneuvered the tank in reserve expertly to not break from the original path they had been following.

Miho waved at the rest of her Panzer Division that had waited for the Stuka's to finish their ground attack and turned to Saori, "Tell the rest of them to move on ahead and follow the path left by the Sherman, we will follow them once we get this prisoner back to Base Command for medical treatment," Saori nodded and quickly relayed the message across the rest of the team.

Hours later Miho stood once again inside her Panzer but peeking out through her hatch, the prisoner was being transported for medical treatment and now Maho was driving them to catch up with the rest of her division. Already with the help of the Luftwaffe they were able to clear the second battle zone and now their sights laid on the Fortress City itself Tobruk.

Miho stared into the skies, several planes were engaged in Combat and several dive bombers and medium bombers began to bombard the Fortress City itself. Her own Panzer Division was being held in reserve behind a large sand dune to protect themselves from being sighted by any enemy Artillery or Tank destroyers. She plopped back down to her Commander Seat and gave a half smile to her crew who all returned the smile.

"Miho, _Generalleutnant_ Rommel radioed in and requested for your presence, a jeep will come and bring you to him," Saori told Miho, whom returned with a larger smile.

"Ja, hopefully it's another gift from Gertrude or little Manny," Miho responded with a small laugh, all of the women giggled as each looked at the Acorn Pin given to them by the Rommel's children. "Yukari, you will be acting Commander of the 52nd Panzer Division until I return," Miho added, Yukari clapped at the short term promotion, as Hana and Maho along with Saori shared a disgruntled chuckle at the thought Yukari ordering them around.

Miho began to step outside of the Panzer as she heard a small honk, no doubt the jeep sent to pick her up. She heard Yukari being, "As acting Commander I will be gentle and strick! First I am tired of seeing that pillow Maho! And Hana can you please make sure your plants are properly secured? Or rather throw them away? You're wasting our water supply to feed. . ." Miho only giggled and heard the collected sighs from the other girls as she jumped down from her tank and walked over to hop on the jeep.

Miho marched into Rommel's command tent and saluted her General and awaited for his orders, Rommel in turn simply waved at her to dispense the formalities as he himself returned the salute quickly. "Miho, the 52nd Division certainly racked up several destroyed targets, and now our siege will end soon enough now," Rommel began as he walked closer to congratulate Miho.

"Thank you sir!" Miho chirped out, slightly turning red at the praise. This man was the sole reason she was even allowed to participate as a Tanker let alone be an acting Commander of her own Division. Rommel responded with a smile and pat on her shoulder.

"Also your prisoner has, well, been rather interesting, they had given us some rather interesting facts of the Allied Forces here," Rommel began, Miho raised her eyebrow in question, "Starting with that your Prisoner is named Naomi and he is actually a she, and she disguised herself to serve as a Gunner for one of the M4 Shermans," Rommel explained.

Miho gaped at the sudden realization that there were other women tankers in the war, although she was forced to appear as a man to do so, regardless it appears others like her exist in the world. Forever fascinated with tanks was not a trait sole to those living in Germany, Miho knew that, but still seeing someone else like her was fascinating.

"Also she's requested an audience with you as well Miho," Rommel added, shrugging at the request, "I of course won't directly order you to do so, but instead I'll allow you choose for yourself," He added.

" _Ja_!" Miho nearly yelled, before noticing her sudden outburst and quickly dropping her chin to stare directly at the ground in embarrassment.

"I'll set up the meeting, with an interpreter and all, when we are in Tobruk, agreed?" Rommel asked.

Miho nodded, "Yes Sir!" she responded.

The fortress of Tobruk would be theirs soon, with a victory over the port city it would only create the perfect launch point to control the rest of Northern Africa.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry folks for this long break, I had a very rough start to the new year and things grew vastly complicated the following weeks. I was not in the right mindset coming back late January as I reread my work and found it morbid at best. Thankfully I had recently gotten some good news, accepting a new Internship and things starting to look up!

I will try to maintain some sort of a regular posting, as I love this story and have many more pages of work to edit and write! I never knew I needed something so much until I watched Girls Und Panzer, so I hope I could do this story some justice for that sakes and for your sake as a reader!

Enjoy.

Chapter 3: Knowing the Enemy

The streets of Tobruk laid riddled with broken steel frames, crumbled buildings and glass. Blackened marks of fires, bombs and explosions of sorts added additional color to the brown and tan of the city. Rubble was nothing new, but the sheer amount of it grew resentment inside of Miho, her teeth grinding one another. She couldn't understand why they had not surrendered sooner, what was the point of protecting this port? The Allies had already stopped delivering supplies and reinforcements months past, holding out would only bleed time for Germany yes, but how much loss of life would justify such an action.

She remembered her Uncle Rommel's reaction upon seeing the entire city, his fury of how much wasted during the siege. Not of German expenses, which very minimal though no less important, but of how much the enemy wasted in both man power and supplies. Miho could still hear his rant

"There's no point of fighting to the last man! You cannot die with honor or glory, you can only live with it!" Rommel bitterly told Miho in the Command Tent, her General had finished talking with the Captured Commander of the Allies Forces station here. Rommel walked towards Miho and gently laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Listen Miho, if you want to become Hero you foremost have to survive," Rommel told her, his voice somber and the anger had receded. "These gentlemen we have prisoners have fought like lions but were led by Donkeys,"

His words cascaded through her mind as she continued her brisk walk through the streets of the torn Fortress City of Tubrock. Her own Panzer was currently stationed nearby the outskirts of the City Walls, already she saw her crew literally sprint into the city and begin to explore. Mako though grudgingly followed the rest, Miho giggled inwardly at the scene of all the rest of the girls forcing Mako to come with them to explore the city.

Miho stopped short in front of a large building, several bars wielded recently and several soldiers posted all around. Their makeshift prison for all the POWs, Miho turned to walk inside, a soldier stopped her though, his eyes steele and face hardened as he addressed Miho.

"What is your business sir?" He asked, he had already recognized her rank but the prisoners he was guarding were officers and other special interests personal. Miho snapped her heels, a 'click' and her right salute to address the guard.

"Under orders of Lt. General Rommel to see one of the Prisoners being held here," Miho responded, her voice loud but still had that softness that was well known.

"Aye sir," He saluted and moved himself out of the way to allow her inside.

Miho knew that her General always strived to give any prisoners the best accommodations that he could spare, as he would want his enemy to do same for their troops. Though most of the city was heavily damaged they had managed to keep a single building look overall 'untouched'. Carefully she walked over to the front desk, another soldier sat there looking over some paperwork. He looked up, a raised eyebrow as he gave her a nod, obviously instructed beforehand from the General as he pointed to the left hallway and said "Room 23B, the Translator is waiting outside the room," and with just that he returned back to his papers.

Miho nodded " _Ja_ , thank you," as she followed the directions. Her footsteps echoed down the hallway as she slowly approached the room, a young man stood in front, his uniform was a tad worn and the man himself had a weary expression.

"Commander," The man saluted, "I am Administrative Corporal Lucas, I speak fluent English, French and Russian," He introduced himself as he offered his hand to Miho.

" _Ja_ , thank you," Miho accepted the handshake and returned the salute, "Is she inside? May we?" She asked, looking at the door behind Lucas.

"Certainly," Lucas replied as he opened the door and walked inside behind Miho.

There was a single table, three chairs were prepared and the woman in question stood near the corner before suddenly turning around, her eyes wide at looking first at Lucas before she stared deeply at Miho. Her gaze was intense, as if trying to peer into her very soul, she broke the gaze as she walked to take seat on other side of the table.

Lucas sat next to Miho as he gestured to start at any time. Miho began and Lucas started to translate, "My name is Nishizumi, Miho Nishizumi, and you are Naomi correct?"

Naomi looked between Miho and Lucas before nodding, "I am a- I was a gunner for my Sherman tank crew," Lucas translated for Miho near perfectly.

"Why did you want to see me? I'm not really one with authority like our General Rommel," Miho asked, curious to Naomi's plight. "Or is it gratitude for saving your life?"

Naomi looked hesitant, opening and closing her mouth before she braved her next words, "I-I'm not entirely sure myself, when I first saw you I asked to myself that Germany allows Women in their Military forces? In their Tank Force? I couldn't believe it," Naomi began, her eyes down casted and staring at her hands.

"You yourself are a Tanker? I thought the Allies did not employ women either," Miho commentated as she leaned a bit closer.

Naomi choked a laugh, "They don't, you see I have a twin brother and he's part of the Medical Staff for the Military, I was able to forge myself off as a man and my brother helped along with some of the paperwork," Naomi explained, her head shaking at the ridiculous nature of her circumstance.

Miho nodded, remembering at Naomi's reflex to stop her from lifting her shirt. Not that it mattered to her if Naomi was a male or not.

"Miss Naomi, our struggle is certainly similar, I too was not allowed to join but my General, Lt. General Rommel, was the one who pushed and forced most of the High Command to allow me to fight," Miho explained, since it was the only reason why she was here was indeed because of her Uncle Rommel.

Naomi looked up, her eyes held sadness but she maintained a rather cool expression, "Seems as if I was born in the wrong country then, your General certainly is quite. . . Accepting, and if circumstances were different I know that I would like the man too," She added.

Lucas finished translating and waited for Miho's response, but Miho remained quiet. She wasn't sure what to ask or even how to comment, it felt a bit surreal to meet someone who was nearly facing the exact the same situations but at the same time have drastically different scenarios.

"I'll make sure your stay here is peaceful, if not more than adequate," Miho assured Naomi, she stood up to prepare to leave. Her hand was held out and waited for Naomi to shake her hand, Naomi nodded and stretched out her hand and embraced her hand with her own.

"I'm not sure how I can thank you, or even if it counts for anything, but. . ." She sighed, it was strange to find out an enemy was nothing more than a friend one could make in a different life time. "Thank you," Naomi conceded.

"A bit unreal isn't it Commander Miho?" Lucas asked her as they began to walk outside the building.

Miho wasn't sure what to exactly make out of this situation, certainly she knew she wasn't the only woman in the entire world driving a tank, but. . ." _Ja_ , but it is a bit unfortunate she must disguise herself to realize her dream and passion," Miho responded. "Thank you Lucas," Miho smiled and bowed quickly, as Lucas himself returned the gesture as they both departed back to their respective assigned locations.

The War wasn't over, one battle won doesn't amount to a war. Not by a long shot.

The city was vibrant once more after a nearly a week of peaceful activity, several of the city's infrastructures had been properly rebuilt and the German Kriegsmarine once again was able to resume a supply line. Thanks to a closer airfield and artillery support, the German Navy was no longer alone to face the might of the legendary British Royal Navy. It was this time Erwin Rommel had received his new promotion to Field Marshal, as well as news that a new detachment of German Panzers would soon find its way to the North African German Army Corps along with some much needed personal.

Miho and her crew were by their tank, admiring their new parts and replacement cannon that was shipped to them. The Panzer VI looked as if it was coming fresh from the factory, new treads with a fresh paint job as Saori and Yukari jumped up and down excitedly of the news of new tank companies being added to the _AfrikaKorps_.

"Oye Miho!" Yukari called out to her tank Commander, her legs sprinted towards them and she jumped up to reach the tank. "You will never believe what's coming in straight from Germany!" She nearly shrieked out. Miho smiled warmly and tried to calm Yukari down just a tad.

"New parts, new reinforcements and new tanks!" She yelled out happily, not trying to control her excitement she let it all out. Miho seemed a bit perplexed, of course she knew Engineers back home were always hard at work discovering and creating newer and better weapons for war but so soon they were going to release a new tank into the battlefield?

"A new Support Tank will be added to help buff up our medium tanks, because soon we will all be moved to supporting roles," Yukari started.

Miho stared a bit confused, she hadn't heard of changes to the Military Doctrine, the Panzer Battalions were suppose to be the spearhead for any military attack with Infantry and Air Support. Were they about to change an entire Doctrine? "Supporting role?" Miho asked.

Yukari continued to bubble, "Yup! We'll be supporting none other than your sister! Commander Maho Von Nishizumi will take the lead in our next offense!" Yukari continued to coo at the thought of fighting alongside with the Legendary Nishizumi family.

Miho stared wide eye, agaped, "Yukari, you make it sound as if we're changing battle structures, if it is my Sister this now all makes sense," Miho sighed in relief, she would finally be able to see her sister once again.

"Yup! We'll be able to finally see this new Heavy Tank Battalion!" Yukari added cheerfully.

Miho stopped short and looked back at her loader, "Heavy Tank?"

"The new s _Panzerkampfwagen_ VI Tiger! Or more aptly and fondly called the Tiger 1!"


End file.
